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THE MIRROR OF HUMAN LIFE
Reflections on François Couperin's
Pièces de Clavecin
by Jane Clark and Derek Connon
ISBN 1-871775-10-8
A greater understanding of the topicality of these titles and
of the burlesque or satirical tone that lies behind some of them
sharpens the music’s effect on our senses. These pieces are
not all benign and charming portraits, agreeably presenting the
sitters. From them Couperin emerges as a keener critic of his
age than at first sight would appear. The tone of irony and satire
creates an altogether more complex picture of his musical language
and in these portraits we may glimpse much that is missing from
the conventional sources about Couperin’s milieu. (Clark
1992).
This excerpt from the THE NEW GROVE Second Edition refers to the
Bate Collection Handbook, François Couperin, Pièces
de Clavecin, The Background by Jane Clark (Oxford 1992).
In this new publication Jane Clark is joined by Derek Connon.
A far wider vision of Couperin’s interests and influences
is presented, particularly his close involvement with the theatre
and his specific references to it in his harpsichord music. Jane
Clark’s CD, School of Politesse, (Janiculum JAN D206), sets
out to illustrate this aspect of the music.
Derek Connon is Professor of French at the University of Wales, Swansea.
He has published two monographs on the eighteenth-century novelist,
playwright and philosopher Diderot and a number of articles on
French theatre from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries.
He has also edited two collections of essays on French theatre
and plays by Musset and Saurin, as well as an anthology of works
from the early opéra-comique of the Parisian Fairs. He
is a keen violinist and violist and his interest in music has
fed into his research in an article on Sartre and Puccini and
a comparison of the operatic theories of Beaumarchais and Mozart.
Published in 2002 by
King's Music,
Redcroft,
Banks End,
Wyton,
Huntingdon,
Cambridgeshire, PE28 2AA
www.kings-music.co.uk
It is available through the web at Crotchet and in the USA at Rhinebeck
Records
REVIEWS:
"Chapters on the social and cultural background and the literary/theatrical world will be of interest to more than just lovers of Couperin
as his milieu was, of course, also that of his contemporaries... catalogue
of all the Pièces de Clavecin with comments on their titles...there
is a wealth of fascinating detail here which players should certainly read."
Early Music Review, December 2002.
"Les amateurs de musique liront ce livre anglais avec délectation:
ils y
trouveront la signification, pièce par pièce, de
tous lest titres de
François Couperin, leur origine, les allusions qui s'y
cachent. La
connaissance ajoute au plaisir."
Le Nouvel Observateur, 13 March 2003.
"Indispensable! One word characterizes this new book by Jane
Clark and
Derek Connon."
The Diapason (USA) March 2003
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